PATIENT SAFETY (HB 108 and HB 492)
Why This Legislation is Important:
Too often, routine medical care results in problems that
make patients even sicker.
Preventable medical errors and hospital-associated infections cause
unnecessary pain and complications, require additional procedures and longer
hospital stays, and drive up the cost of health care a projected $4.5
billion every year. According to the Third Annual Patient Safety in American
Hospitals Report, 1.24 million significant medical errors led to more than
250,000 estimated preventable deaths among Medicare patients hospitalized
from 2002 to 2004.
The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology reports that 1.2 million hospital patients are infected with dangerous, drug-resistant staph infections each year. And the Centers for Disease Control estimate that one in 20 patients – about two million a year – contract an infection while in the hospital. Improving the safety of health care services in doctors’ offices, hospitals and nursing homes would particularly benefit older Georgians who are more dependent on these services and are at higher risk for avoidable errors that cause serious injuries.
By requiring facilities to publicly disclose their rates of medical errors and infections, Georgians will have access to information that is so important when making decisions about where to seek medical care.
One way to boost confidence in the health care system is to diversify the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners. The Federation of State Medical Boards recommends significant consumer representation on medical boards. Currently, Georgia’s board has only one non-physician member.
What Other State Are Doing:
- North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia have significant patient representation on their state Medical Licensing Boards.
- The South Carolina legislature voted to require hospitals to publicly report infections. The first reports are due out in 2008.
What This Legislation Would Do:
- Include the consumer voice on Georgia’s Composite State Board of Medical Examiners by adding three more members with no professional ties to the health care industry.
- Require the Department of Human Resources to post on its website all adverse actions, deficiencies, findings and penalties the department imposes on health care providers.
- Establish a process for a public reporting system of adverse incidents and infection rates at state-licensed health care facilities.
